Crash Into Me
by spectacularvernacular
Summary: Stiles Stilinski is a determined guy; nothing is going to get in the way of him having an awesome college experience and graduating with his Masters in Forensic Science. And there was no way in hell anything was going to stop him from being with Lydia Martin. Not even Lydia Martin.
1. Chapter 1

"I should have never agreed to this."

Stiles gave his friend an unapologetic look. "You'll be fine." The blonde lady on the other side of the counter delivered their coffees and Scott sighed in relief.

"It's Monday at 9am, were idiots for taking this class." Scott took another sip of his coffee. He was dead serious. He was not the kind of person to wake up this early and have to think this hard.

"It's two hours of biochem and two hours of toxicology, not the end of the world. Plus most people have to take the classes separately. We're lucky." Scott rolled his eyes as they made their way to class quietly. He knew he was right, it was necessary and everyone said Professor Deaton's class was by far the best, but it's freaking 9am. On Monday. Give him some time to adjust.

"I liked you so much more when you barely went to school." Scott held the door open for him as he spoke and Stiles through a 'fuck off' look his way before heading into their first classroom. Scott would catch on eventually. They had spent their first two years in college mostly taking basic courses and this was the first time they had a full schedule of classes they were actually interested in, most of which were together, and for the first time in a long time Stiles didn't feel like he was standing still.

The classroom was freaking humongous. It was a normal college style lecture hall with an entire lab area off to the left with desks and a separate teaching area for what he guessed was for doing experiments and all the other good shit. Yep, he was stoked. He smacked his hands on the desk multiple times as he gave his best friend a stupid grin from their seats near the back.

Scott gave him a sincere smile after taking a real look around the classroom. "This is pretty awesome." Scott pulled his vibrating phone out of his pocket, looking at his text. "Jackson's having a party tonight at his frat. He said spread the word, they're surprising Derek for his birthday."

Stiles chuckled. "Doesn't your brother hate parties?"

"Yep. This should be good." Derek was Scott's older brother. He was in Berkley's Master program and the head of the biggest frat on campus. And while he wasn't necessarily a saint, he was definitely taking college more serious as he got older and he left the partying to the weekend, not Monday night. Jackson was his brothers best friend and worst influence. He never disappoints with a party either.

Stiles nodded before his eyes moved to the door swinging open. Most of the class seemed to have filled up by the time she walked in, clicking heels taking most of the classrooms attention, and Scott looked up to see a pretty red head walking down their aisle, seemingly making her way to one of the empty seats past Stiles. Scott smiled at her when she approached him, tucking his legs in so she could pass and she gave him a friendly smile in return, muttering a thank you to him. Scott was still looking at her when her eyes averted to Stiles, looking slightly confused.

"Excuse me." She gestured to his long legs stretched out in front of her, blocking her path. The jerk was staring right at her and was just gonna make her stand there?

Scott looked to his friend, who's jaw was basically to the floor, looking the pretty girl up and down. He didn't really blame him for being attracted to her, she was gorgeous and probably one of the few girls on this campus with her hair and make up done and in a skirt and heels at 9 in the morning. Hell, even Scott was in sweatpants right now. Stiles had been decent enough to put on some burgundy jeans and a shirt without wrinkles.

The red heads finger snapping in Stiles face got both of their attention, as well as a few students around them. Stiles finally took a breath and his eyes grew wide when he realized he had been blatantly checking out the beautiful girl in front of him, and had made a slight ass out of himself. He quickly straightened up and let her pass and all she gave him was a perfectly arched eyebrow as she passed up the seat next to him to take a seat two down.

His eyes couldn't help but follow her, before he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned his head to Scott.

"What?"

"Dude, that was not smooth." He barely whispered, pushing him slightly as he released his shoulder.

Stiles sighed as he leaned back, stretching his legs back out. He thought he saw the red head glance his way at the action, but he figured it would be more in his favor to not stare at her again, mostly because it seemed to put him in some ridiculous trance where he didn't have a brain. "I'm aware, thanks."

Lydia cut her eyes to the constant foot tapping from the spikey haired jerk who thought shamelessly checking out girls was perfectly okay. He was cute, a few moles scattered around his face, and a real smile on him as he whispered something to the guy next to him, who, she noted had been perfectly polite, and was annoyed by her own thoughts. He was not freaking cute, he was a jerk.

Stiles decided to steal a glance after a minute, and was truly shocked to find her quickly turning her eyes away from him. She was staring. Stiles' eyebrows shot up as she quickly moved to pull her Mac out of her designer purse.

Lydia caught the shit eating grin on his face out of the corner of her eye as she cursed herself and quickly made herself busy with other things. Where in the hell was this teacher anyways? Class started ten minutes ago.

"We are genius' for taking this class." Stiles glanced over to Scott with the same grin and Scott had to chuckle at the rebuttal from his earlier claim. He knew that look anywhere. Before he could even speak to him, Stiles quickly jumped up and shuffled two seats down, plopping himself next to the pretty girl. Scott shook his head and pulled out his own laptop, distracting himself.

Lydia rolled her eyes when she saw him get up and sighed loudly when he sat next to her, his leg pressed up against hers. She continued to scroll through her Facebook feed. "Stiles."

He watched a corner of her mouth turn up, a cute dimple showing. She glanced at his outstretched hand before looking back to her laptop. "What in the hell is a Stiles?"

He smirked, resting his cheek on his knuckles as he looked her over again. She really was so pretty it smacked the air right out of him. He really didn't know what had come over him even coming to sit next her, she was so far out of his league, but it didn't matter at all to him, because the second he laid eyes on her he had to know everything there was to know about her. She was elegant and classy and sexy as hell, and he was basically a puddle on the floor. "I'm Stiles."

Lydia finally looked to him, his eyes were more golden now and his smile was sincere. He was leaning in close to her, and she could smell the Irish Spring soap from his morning shower. "That's nice." She offered, returning to her computer screen.

Lydia wanted to scream a thank you when the teacher finally walked in the class. The jerk hasn't said anything more, he just laughed softly and pulled out his laptop and started playing chess, his covered leg still pushed up against her bare one. She crossed her legs to separate them and already felt colder. She watched as his leg immediately started to tap again, his attention fully on the teacher.

"Good morning class! Sorry I'm late," he looked around curiously, "I'm not the most punctual, but that might have to change if I'm gonna have a class this full every Monday morning." He smiled. "I understand this is a long class and I try to keep it as casual as possible, aside from the occasional lecture you will mostly do labs and projects with your partners."

Lydia wanted to scream again, for a completely different reasons. Please dear god...

"Lucky for you if you sat next to someone you know today, because that's gonna be your partner for the rest of the year."

Lydia glanced to her left and actually cussed under her breath when she saw two girls a few seats down chatting. When she turned the other way he had that stupid smile on his face again. "You wanna go sit back by your friend now?"

"Nope."

"Please."

He almost looked offended. He glanced back towards Scott who was already talking to a pretty brunette sitting next to him. "You're out of luck." He chuckled, shrugging at her.

"Easy enough?" The professor continued when he noticed most of the class had seemed to find a partner. "Write both of your full names on a piece of paper and pass them all up front so I know, and then use the next hour to get acquainted. After that you're free to go, and I'll see you all on Wednesday for your first assignment." He offered another sincere smile before taking a seat behind his desk and kicking his feet up, opening a book.

What kind of sick jok-

Lydia's thoughts were interrupted when Stiles brushed her arm, holding a paper out with his full name on it. His arm stayed against hers until she grabbed it. "Stiles Stilinski?"

"The one and only."

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at him before forcefully writing her name on the paper and flinging it back at him. He grabbed it effortlessly out of the air. "Lydia Martin."

She ignored him and he smiled at her before reaching his long arms over the empty seats and passing the paper to Scott, who was gathering them all. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier." He said honestly, looking intently at her. He didn't want to come off as some horny kid, because he liked to give himself more credit than that, but this girl right here made all of his inhibitions fly out of the window.

Her green eyes met his when she spoke. "You don't make me uncomfortable." He didn't, it wasn't as though she felt creeped out or threatened by him. She just knew he was only interested in getting in her pants like most 21 year old guys. She saw his smirk start to form and wanted to smack it off. "I just think you're an ass." She added, returning to her Facebook.

His mouth fell open. "What?! Why?"

She squinted at him, her eyebrows furrowed together. "Um, you think it's perfectly fine to check out every girl that passes you up, and then you just come over here with that dumb smirk and think what? I'm just gonna fall at your feet? Are you that dense?"

He laughed, because yes, he was pretty dense. "You got it all wrong."

She scoffed.

"Just you."

"Excuse me?"

He shrugged, looking her up and down. "I don't check out every girl, just you. You're beautiful and it completely took my breath away." Kinda thick but it was true.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"And I was sure I was gonna be the one falling at your feet." He joked, earning a small smile she quickly hid, shaking her head.

"Put your number in my phone." Stiles was holding his phone out to her and she grabbed it, surprising both of them when she didn't argue. She just figured she wouldn't of won anyways.

"I'm gonna text you the invite for Scott's," he pointed over his shoulder to his polite friend," brothers birthday party at his frat house tonight. You can bring anyone you want and it'll be a good time, so don't just knock it because I'm there," he winked at her when she cut her eyes at him. Like he knew what she was thinking. Jerk.

"You're in a frat?"

"God no," he laughed and she felt instant relief he wasn't a complete college fuckboy prototype. "Just his older brother. They throw a hell of a party though." He offered.

She glanced at him and considered if she wanted to go or not. She could drag Theo and Liam along and try to have a good time and not over think every little thing. "I promise not to bother you the _whole_ time." He added for measure. She gave him an unconvinced look, pursing her lips together. "Okay," she shrugged, "thanks."

He smiled sincerely. "So can I ask what your major is?"

She sighed. She didn't really have a choice anyways. "Forensic Science."

There was that shit eating grin again.

* * *

"Mate, you're pathetic!" Issac and Scott were laughing at Stiles on the couch, Scott telling him all about his prime time performance with Lydia this morning. Stiles ignored them as he ate his sandwich, his attention on his phone.

"I'm surprised she agreed to be his partner." Issac joked, his eyes trained on Stiles.

"Oh fuck off." They both started laughing again and Stiles dropped his sandwich on his plate. "I'm gonna be a great partner." He added, matter-of-factly, taking another bite.

Issac and Scott were giving each other a doubtful look when he spoke again. "And when she marries me, I'll be a great husband." Both of their heads fell back on the couch, cracking up again.

Issac stood up, laughing still. "If I were you I wouldn't tell her just yet you're getting married." He winked at his friend. "I'm gonna go get ready for practice so we can get out of here." Scott and Stiles we're already in sweats and a t-shirts, ready to suit up in the rest of their hockey gear when they got to the rink.

"So, all you got was her name and major huh?" Scott asked when Stiles took a seat next to him.

"Yeah, and that was like pulling teeth. I'm hoping I have better luck tonight."

Scott laughed. "If she shows up, you'll already have done better than you did today." He winced when Stiles sucker punched him in the arm.

Issac came tumbling out of the room, his ice skates around his neck and his gym bag in his arm. "Yeah mates! Let's gooo! Best part of the day awaits!" You could always count on Issac to be way too excited about everything, it was the British in him. Scott and Stiles saved the excitement for game day, because they knew damn well coach was about to work them to near death.

"So since Stiles ditched you for a proper red head, who'd you end up partnered with?" Issac asked after they had all shuffled into Stiles' new jeep. It was the same blue as the one he had been driving since sophomore year, but a lot nicer, with a lot less duck tape.

Stiles took the turn out of their apartment quicker than usual, sending Issac flying to the other side of the back seat. Scott laughed, "This girl named Allison, I invited her tonight." He smiled confidently back to his friend.

"Is she cute?" Issac asked from his spot in the middle of the backseat, his arms leaning on both of his friends chairs.

"Extremely cute." Stiles threw in.

Issac dropped his mouth open in mock surprise. "Stiles, what would sweet Lydia think?"

"Probably relief." Scott threw in with a smirk. Issac snickered in the backseat when Stiles smacked him on back of the head. No matter what was gonna come of all this nonsense, he was confident it was gonna be a good show to watch.

Stiles was grateful when both of his friends chose to keep their mouths shut for the rest of the drive. It was bad enough he was probably going to have to work for awhile just to get Lydia to believe he wasn't some ass with no manners, but you can bet he was gonna put in all the work he needed to.

"Stilinski!" Stiles jumped at his locker, instantly feeling a warm hand grab the back of his neck.

"Hey coach!"

"Don't 'hey coach' me," he pulled Stiles to the center of the locker room, his normal grin sporting his face. "Hey losers, gather around!" All the other players in the room gave the coach their attention. "I just wanted to introduce everyone to their team captain, he's like a son to me, all of you should put some extra effort in your lives and play like him. Seriously," he looked around in disgust, "some of you are just pathetic." He smiled again, releasing Stiles. "Be on the ice in 5!"

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, happy to see everyone just return to what they were doing before the interruption. Coach had a knack for making the announcement periodically throughout the year for the past two years. It was one of the many, many things that was off about the older man.

"Aren't you already the captain?" Issac was looking around, obviously confused.

"Yes, Issac." Half of the locker room answered.

* * *

Lydia had never been so relieved to get out of class before. She quickly went to the cafeteria to get some food to-go, before heading off to her dorm. She had moved her stuff in two days ago, but she stayed at Theo's last night and had yet to get to decorate or meet her roommate, which were two things she was pretty excited about. She spent her first two years here still living at her parents house, due to a slightly overprotective father, but after two years of arguing her case, something finally clicked and he decided to let up and let her experience life and she couldn't be more grateful for the timing.

Lydia wasted no time walking through the door, stopping in her tracks at the brunette girl sitting on the bed opposite of hers, reading a book. She was a little surprised anyone was there, most of the campus had been empty with classrooms full, since it was their first day back. It seemed like Lydia and the rest of Deaton's class were the only ones with a teacher that let people loose three hours early on the first day, not that it surprised her. It did make you wonder how the rest of the year was gonna go, at least on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

"Hey," Lydia smiled and the brunette smiled back at her, she looked kind of familiar, but Lydia couldn't pin point it. "I'm Lydia." She gave her a slightly awkward wave before laying down on her own bed, happy the girl didn't bother to get up for some formal greeting.

"I'm Allison," she smiled watching the girl crash onto her bed. "Hey, are you in Deaton's class?" Allison closed her book and sat up a little as she got a better look at her. There weren't many girls walking around here with long red hair and heels. Heels that she really needed to borrow at some point.

Lydia groaned as an image of a spikey haired jerk came into her mind, before lifting her head. She realized where she knew her from now, she was the girl that was partnered with nice, normal Scott.

"Yeah, thanks to you, I got partnered with one of the sexiest guys I have ever seen." Allison smirked at her, she really was thankful.

She had Lydia's attention now. "Huh?"

"Yeah, Scott said he got left in the dust because his friend chased after you, so I had to be his partner." She thought for a moment, "unless that was just a line he used." She smiled at the thought, shrugging.

Lydia rolled her eyes at her choice of words. Stiles was not chasing anything, at least if she had anything to say about it. "I wish it was a line, I'm stuck with the jerk all year. And to think if I would of come home last night I might just have been partnered with you!" Lydia wanted to laugh at the circumstances she put herself in.

"What did he do?" Allison was truly curious, Scott seemed like a genuinely nice guy so it surprised her that he would have friends that could really be considered jerks. Especially good looking ones like Stiles.

"He just gaped at me like I was some piece of meat! I almost kicked him just to get him out of my way." The thought made her smile.

"So hot guy checks you out and that pisses you off?" Lydia shot her an obvious look." Do you have a boyfriend or something?"

"No, but I do have self respect." She bit. In all honesty, Lydia just wasn't interested in having a relationship of any kind right now, she just wanted to focus on school without little distractions. Or tall distractions with spikey hair and a stupid grin.

Allison rolled her eyes at the cute girl opposite of her, she was gonna have some work on her hands loosening her up. She was up for the challenge. "So did he bring up Scott's brothers party?"

"Yes..." Allison's tone had a hint of mischief in it and Lydia glared at her, "but, I don't think I'm gonna go."

"You're going."

Lydia blinked at her. She wondered for a moment if her father had kept her so sheltered because everyone was as pushy as Stiles and Allison.

"So you're just gonna make your roommate go alone to some huge party?" She tried.

Lydia scoffed at her. "I'm not going to a party to get ditched in twenty minutes for a boy."

Allison looked to her. "I swear that I will not ditch you at any time. It'll be nice to tease Scott for a night anyways." She smirked.

Lydia laughed. "You are evil."

Allison winked at her. "Were leaving at 8." She added, before returning to her book.

"I was going to invite my friends Theo and Liam, can they tag along?" A big part of Lydia really did want to make some new friends, and she was willing to hang out with just her if that's what Allison preferred.

Allison shrugged. "The more the merrier." She shut her book again, more curious thoughts forming. "So you planning on torturing Stiles by inviting a few guys?" She teased, she could tell that bringing up a certain boy kinda bugged Lydia and she was gonna have her fun with it.

Lydia squinted at the girl across from her, really reconsidering the whole 'wanting to be friends' thing. "First of all, I'm sure the flirty jerk that is Stiles will be plenty preoccupied with the mass amounts of drunk girls that are actually willing to just let him in their pants,"

Allison raised an eyebrow at her tone.

"And second, Theo and Liam are gay. And a couple."

Allison smiled, cocking her head to the side at her new friend. "Well I think we should wait a little while to tell him, you know, see if he bursts a vein or something." She winked at the red head whose mouth was hanging open.

Lydia smiled at the girl before putting her head back in her pillow. The thought of teasing him to get a reaction out of him as he did to her crossing her mind, before she shook it out. "I can't handle you right now."

Allison laughed wholeheartedly. "I'll grow on you. So," she placed her book on the nightstand next to her bed. "Are all of your outfits that cute? Because if they are, I'm gonna need to borrow something tonight."

Lydia popped up quickly, a huge smile on her face that took Allison by surprise. This was a topic she was interested in. "I have the perfect dress for you!"

"So, are you sure you don't want Stiles to bother you tonight?" Allison asked. Lydia glared at her through the mirror she was putting her makeup on with. Allison was sitting on her bed waiting for Lydia with a huge smile on her face.

Allison was throughly impressed with this girls ability to put herself together. Hell even Allison looked amazing right now because of her. She had on one of Lydia's short cream dresses and her black leather jacket, with a pair of her own black heels. She had just let her hair down and put on some light make up. Lydia on the other hand looked like she was ready for a photo shoot with her long hair in perfect curls, the top center of her hair pulled back into a slight pump. She had on a short blue and burgundy plaid skirt and a matching burgundy crop top with dark blue leather jacket, and dark red strappy pumps. And while Allison had a feeling this was an everyday routine for her new friend, she wasn't gonna pass up a chance to tease her about Stiles.

"I'm trying not to think about Stiles, thank you." She smiled curtly at her.

"Well you could at least think about his well being."

Lydia swiveled around in her chair. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Allison held back her smile. "You're going to give the poor guy a heart attack." She winked, whistling appreciatively when Lydia stood and started to gather her things and put them in her purse.

Lydia chose to ignore her prior comments. "Ready to go?" She smiled sweetly, daring her to bring it up again.

"Oh you have no idea how ready I am for this."

* * *

Lydia and Allison entered the party with equally impressed looks, the house was packed with people drinking and laughing, music filling every room and people dancing in random places. She felt a smile cross her face at the sight of everyone enjoying themselves and the same feeling invading her. She and Allison found Scott at the same time, his smile beaming at them from the kitchen and his hand motioning for them to come over. She turned behind her to Theo and Liam, only to see Liam quickly making his way over to a group of people he knew after kissing Theo on the cheek. Theo shrugged and threw his arm around her as they made their way to the kitchen. "He's cute, is that him?" He whispered in her ear.

"No, that's Scott." She snapped her head to him. "And you better behave." He shrugged, crinkling his nose at her.

Lydia found him when they got to the kitchen, his back was turned to them and he was talking animatedly to two girls and a tall blonde boy as they passed a joint around. He hadn't noticed she was there yet, and she found herself wondering if she should say hi to him, before he let out a loud laugh, putting his arm around the dark blonde standing next to him. Just as she thought, she smiled, shaking her head. At least she dodged a bullet.

"Hey guys!" Scott smiled, giving both Allison and Lydia a hug, before holding his hand out to Theo. "I'm Scott."

Theo shook his hand with a smile. "Theo. Thanks for the invite, I've been working on getting Lydia to live a little for awhile now." He joked, nudging her arm.

She rolled her eyes at him before looking to Scott, grabbing his arm lightly. "I'm really not as dull as he's gonna make it seem, okay?"

Scott nodded, winking at her. "I'll only pretend to be listening." She winked back at him before taking the drink Allison brought her.

Stiles had turned around as soon as he heard a male voice say Lydia's name, and couldn't hide the shock on his face at the sight of Lydia joking with Scott, while another guy, only a little bit shorter than Stiles had his arm around her shoulder, their bodies close together, obviously comfortable. He gulped, before turning back to Kira, Malia, and Issac. "Pour me a shot."

"That's her huh?" Issac was directly across from him and had a full view. "Ouch." He added, watching the guy pull Lydia closer to him and whisper something in her ear. "That sucks."

"Issac, shut up."

"Thank you, Malia." Stiles and Kira said in unison.

Theo was pretty surprised by how taken aback the guy had been when he turned around, Stiles was so in shock he was sure he hadn't even noticed Theo was looking right at him. "You're in trouble." He chuckled into Lydia's ear, after he saw Stiles turn back around. This guy had it bad.

Lydia has seen his reaction out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help the bad feeling in her gut at the sad look on Stiles' face. She pinched Theo's hip and he quickly dropped his arm from around her, swearing under his breath. "You've had enough fun, go hang out with your boyfriend." She pointed out into the crowd sternly, she was not gonna let Theo mess with Stiles like that no matter how annoying he was, she was still a decent person.

He pouted as he walked away and she gave him a smile before returning to a conversation with Allison and Scott. It wasn't a moment later that the tall blonde boy that had been previously smoking with Stiles, made his way over to them along with the blonde that Stiles had his arm around earlier. They were holding enough shots for everyone.

"Introductory shots!" Issac shouted, smiling at them as he passed them around. He was happy to see no one object as they each took one. "I'm Issac, this is Malia." The blonde girl gave them a sincere smile. "And you're Allison, the pretty brunette Scott's interested in." Allison raised her eyebrows, looking over to Scott who was burying his cherry red face in his hand. She smiled wide before turning back to his wonderful friend. "And you must be Lydia, he wasn't lying when he said you were gorgeous now was he?"

Lydia gave him a good natured eye roll, before taking her shot with everyone else. "It's nice to meet you too, Issac." Lydia was gonna ignore the annoyingly curious feeling she got wondering what Stiles had said to his friends about her. She wondered if he actually had nice things to say, or just wanted to brag about a conquest.

Issac caught her anyways, a curious look on her face and she occasionally looked around the kitchen, only slightly apart of the conversation everyone else was having. "You want to dance?"

Lydia must of thought he was gonna say something else, because she had actual shock on her face at his question. He was smiling cheekily at her, sipping his drink. She really didn't mind the idea, she was just a little surprised it was some guy she just met asking her and not one of her friends, or the boy that wanted her to be here so badly. "Sure." She smiled back, grabbing his arm and nearly bouncing off to the living room. The vodka had started to kick in and she was ready to start enjoying herself.

Both of them stopped in their tracks when Scott grabbed Issac by the shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Helping." He mouthed with a wink, before twirling Lydia and dancing her off into the other room.

"We should totally stay in here and not be involved, right?" Allison, Malia, and Scott looked at each other momentarily, before quickly barreling into the other room, slightly tripping over each other in the process.


	2. Chapter 2

Kira and Stiles were dancing around with the rest of the people in the living room, the Yelawolf song playing so loud it felt like the house was shaking. She watched as he took a long swig of his beer before returning to his dancing, happy to see him calming down a little. Seeing Lydia with what he now how had guessed was her boyfriend, definitely knocked him down a peg, and she quickly dragged him away before he combusted, while Issac and Malia promised to get all the details.

Stiles jumped when someone bumped into his back, nearly spilling his drink all over Kira. He spun around quickly, "Hey, you wanna watch wher-" He took a step back, his head turning slightly to the couple holding hands in front of him.

"Sorry buddy," the shorter one patted his shoulder, "I need to pay more attention."

Stiles ignored him, eyeing the taller one with a red tint in his hair. "Aren't you... you're not... huh?" He glanced at their hands again, truly confused as to why the guy that was all over Lydia was now all over some guy right in front of his eyes.

"What? You got a problem with gay people?" Theo stepped forward a little and Stiles' head shot up with a mortified look.

"What?! No! No of course not. I love gay guys, gay guys love me." He announced, getting more attention than he expected from his words. Jackson quickly slid passed him, smacking him on the ass. "Yes we do!" Stiles smiled triumphantly, as though he proved a point.

"So you just have a staring problem then?" Theo asked with a smirk. Lydia must not have been kidding about that much.

"Babe, check out Lydia! Is that the Stiles guy?" Liam watched as she laughed when the tall boy twirled her. "It doesn't seem like she can't stand him." He chuckled.

Stiles had forgot about the guy standing next to Lydia's not-boyfriend until he spoke, his words causing a jumble of confusion in Stiles' head. Why did he say his name? She couldn't stand him? And who was Lydia with? He quickly spun around, immediate regret and a punch to the gut all he felt as he watched his beautiful Lydia and his ex best friend dance way to closely for his comfort. Issac laughed as she spun around and brushed up against him, only to spin back out of his embrace again.

"Fucker." Theo, Liam, and Kira all put their attention back on Stiles when he spoke, and Kira's eyes grew wide at the anger she saw creeping up his neck.

"Stiles, do not freak out," she grabbed his arm, "you know Issac likes to press buttons."

Liam looked over his surroundings again, his face scrunched up. "I am so confused."

Theo pointed to Stiles. "That's the Stiles guy." He lifted his finger to where Issac and Lydia were dancing. "That's Lydia dancing with... not him." He dropped his finger back to Stiles.

"Huh." Was all Liam could manage. He was a little surprised honestly, although Lydia had blown off Allison's teasing on the way here, he knew whoever she had been talking about Lydia was intrigued by, which was exciting considering all Lydia concerned herself with was school and the occasional hookup. He and Theo were both equally curious about someone who was more near her level in life than the losers she usually entertained, but she didn't seem to curious right now.

Stiles took a breath after listening everything happening behind him, his previous encounter with Lydia coming to his mind and he quickly realized that marching over there like the possessive boyfriend might not be his best bet. He looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on the fresh beer in Kira's hand, "I'm gonna need that," he grabbed it softly, smiling proudly at whatever idea had come to his head. Before Kira could say anything more, he was off and headed towards the red head.

"You think he'll hit him?" Allison asked from her spot in the door way.

"He might." The idea had Scott on his toes, ready to interfere if he needed.

"Probably." Malia added, because someone had to be realistic around here. They had been watching everything unfold up until now, and Stiles was headed straight for Issac, looking pissed as ever.

Stiles was pissed, but he was smart too and he had already put everything together in his head. Lydia didn't have a boyfriend, at least not one that was here, and he was a jerk who ran off because he was jealous, and now he was going to have to use next practice to whoop Issac's ass for even thinking he could get away with this.

Issac wasn't surprised when he felt a hand on his chest, giving him a nice shove away from Lydia's back. Stiles gave him a look that for once made Issac keep his mouth shut, before he turned his attention back to the red head. Lydia was mid-twirl when she stopped in her tracks, eyeing the spikey haired boy in front of her, totally lost onto when Stiles had showed up.

Stiles shrugged at her, hopefully answering whatever questions bubbled in her head, before holding the beer out to her. "Peace offering?"

The huge grin on her face as she took it was enough to make Stiles drop to his knees. She took a long swig, "I was wondering if you were ever gonna come talk to me."

His wide eyes had her wanting to laugh. Maybe she could stand him? If he was being honest he didn't really care. "I've just been waiting for my opportunity." He recovered after a moment, smiling back at her. "Having fun dancing with Issac?"

Her smile turned sly, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. I mean look at him." She rolled her eyes when he scoffed, pushing his shoulder lightly. "I'm messing with you! Lighten up."

He took a deep breath, a real smile finally coming to his face as he got a chance to admire her. "You look amazing." He met her eyes and she smiled back at him.

Lydia's eyes lit up when she heard "Liquor Locker" come over the house speakers, squealing a little. "Dance with me and I'll consider your peace offering." She surprised him when she grabbed his hand, and he nearly passed out when she danced in a slow circle for him when the song sped up, her hips shaking perfectly to the beat. He didn't falter for once, quickly moving close to her and following her every move.

Issac sauntered back towards his friends in the doorway of the kitchen, Malia looking shocked and Scott thankful that he was in one piece. He winked, brushing passed them as he met Allison's waiting hand in the air for a high-five.

Lydia wasn't surprised when he quickly caught on, his hands holding hers as he danced closer to her. She was a little surprised that he didn't try to grab her body or grind her against him, he moved with her effortlessly, enjoying just dancing with her. He was much closer than Issac had been, his back pressed to her front in a way Lydia usually wouldn't let guys get away with, but she would be lying if she were to pretend like she wasn't the one who had pulled him closer.

Stiles had never been so damn focused in his life. His mind was in constant motion, watching her every move, making sure he didn't make the wrong one and ruin their moment. The hand that wasn't clutching his beer, was intertwined with hers, and was saving his life because he didn't know how else he was supposed to not touch her. From the second he saw her in that little skirt he had given up whatever self control and respect he had left, because damn if this girl couldn't turn heads. And not just with her looks, it was every little thing about her. Her pouty lips, an attitude that could smack the smile off of your face, and a heart that he was going to try like hell to thaw.

He held his breath when she pulled him closer, her warmth and strawberry scent all around him, and he snapped his eyes shut, trying to control his bodies normal reaction. He would take nearly any other scenario ruining this, as long as it wasn't his anatomy.

Stiles made it two more songs before they decided to take a break, and headed towards the kitchen to get fresh drinks. Stiles kept her hand in his until they reached the kitchen. She bit back a smirk as she got a look at her friends, old and new. Allison was in between Scott's legs as he sat on a bar stool, laughing at some story he was telling. Issac and a guy a little older looking, with a beard and pretty blue eyes were playing beer pong against each other, Issac looking miserable as the other sunk in a shot.

Kira was sitting on Malia's lap at the dining room table, Malia playing quarters against Theo, and talking to Liam, and a blonde guy with short hair who looked like he might be the only person here that took longer to get ready than she did.

She looked up when Stiles came back to her, holding a cold solo cup out to her that she gladly took.

"Stiles! Finally!" Stiles looked to Derek, who had stopped mid throw when he realized he was in the room. "Would you please tell Issac that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, not some old Brit. He won't shut up about it." Derek's eyes moved to Issac's, glaring at him as Issac smirked.

Stiles eyebrows shot up to Derek, obviously amused. He suddenly looked over to Issac. "All of the things I've tried to teach you over the years, and that's what stuck huh?"

Issac shrugged. "It's the story of my people."

Derek sunk another shot before turning back to Stiles. "Why do you give him the satisfaction?"

Stiles laughed when Issac missed his shot, cursing loudly. "He doesn't have much else." He joked, earning a friendly glare from Issac and a laugh from the friends around him.

Issac straightened up, facing Derek. "It doesn't matter anyways, I was right." He stated, matter-of-factly with a smug smirk. This time when he took his shot it went right in.

Derek turned to Stiles glaring. "Tell him it's a lie before I have to end your goaltenders life."

"Frederick de Moleyns." Everyone turned their heads to Lydia, who had been quiet up until then, with confused looks on their faces. Well, besides Stiles who was grinning ear to ear.

"That's the name of the English guy that invented the lightbulb." She added, shrugging. She felt Stiles' eyes on her, but continued to look at Derek whose face had gone from annoyed to amused very quickly.

Derek looked to Stiles momentarily, whose jaw was on the floor as he admired the girl next to him, obviously impressed before returning to the red head. "I'm gonna let this slide for once since I don't know you, and act like you didn't take the enemies side." He joked, winking at her before returning to the game in front of him.

Issac looked over to Lydia and mouthed a 'thank you' to her before watching Derek miss his shot, a smug smirk on his face.

Stiles was still staring at Lydia, obviously impressed and a little turned on. He was quickly realizing that the girl that had taken all of his interest was pretty complex and probably really smart. And not Forensic Science major smart like him, more of a genius smart that maybe should have intimidated him, but all it did was make him want her more.

Lydia finally looked over to Stiles, whose brown eyes were turning golden and his mouth was only hanging slightly open. "What? Did you think you were the only smart person in the room?"

Stiles shut his mouth immediately, his brows furrowing. "Do I really seem that stuck up?"

"No, but I was hoping you weren't gaping at me like some horny teenage boy again. So much for that." She threw at him, taking a sip of her drink. She really wasn't mad about it, he just made it so easy to pick on him you kind of had to.

He chuckled a little, continuing to look at her. Before he could convince himself other wise, he lifted his hand and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger down her neck for just a second before he turned to Kira's words, only noticing her wide eyes as he looked away.

"So, who do you guys play Thursday?" Kira asked, getting in her own chair when Malia and Theo's game got intense.

"Michigan." Scott answered.

This time Lydia glanced over to Stiles. "What do you guys play?"

"Hockey." He smiled down at her.

"And we're not gonna get robbed of a championship this year." Jackson added, coming to stand at the island they had gathered around.

"Let's not get started on this." Stiles sighed. The whole topic just put everyone on edge.

"They broke your ribs!" Jackson threw his arms out.

"On purpose."

Stiles threw a look Scott's way for encouraging them. "I'm well aware. That's why I'm gonna hang them out to dry."

"Someone purposely broke your ribs?" Lydia's arches her eyebrows, a little concerned for anyone who was being attacked over a sport.

Stiles looked into her wide eyes, trying to read the emotion in them. "Yes, one person, but he can't play anymore."

"Why?"

"They knew we wouldn't of won." Scott answered in an obvious manner.

"If are heads had been in the game," Jackson added with a pointed look at Scott. "We could have won, but someone had to knock two of the guys teeth out after and get himself removed too."

Scott only glared at him, but he knew that this topic was better left alone. He turned to Allison and smiled at her worried look. "You and Lydia should come. They give us good seats for our parents but they only make it a few games a year. Malia and Kira will be in the other two." Scott was running his hand down Allison's arm as he spoke and Lydia didn't even have to hear her response to know she wasn't getting out of that one. She smiled at them anyways.

"Yes girl, it's so much fun, they're front row!" Kira smiled at her, wiggling her eyebrows. "They're actually pretty good too." She winked at Scott when he pretended to look offended.

"Actually," Jackson stood up and planted a big kiss on Kira's cheek. "Were the best." He corrected, before sauntering towards a guy that caught his attention on the other side of the house.

"And super humble!" She shook her head.

"You really don't have to. Kira and Malia will entertain Allison if it's not your thing." Stiles whispered, leaning into Lydia so that the side of his body pressed against hers. Of course he wanted her to be there, but she was hard to read and he felt the need to let her know that she didn't have to come around just because Allison wanted to go.

"I like hockey when the games are good." Lydia shrugged, her dimples showing when she lifted the corner of her mouth.

He jutted his lip out for a moment before smiling at her. "I won't let you down." He winked.

* * *

"Wow, I didn't realize how big of a deal hockey was around here." Allison was looking around the packed rink as they took their seats next to the penalty box, the entire place packed with excited students and staff. In her defense, she was a transfer and this was her first year here, but looking at the familiar posters and merchandise people were wearing for the team, she realized she saw this hockey stuff all over school and maybe should pay a little more attention to detail.

"It's blew up in the last couple years, don't tell them I told you but they are pretty impressive." Malia winked at Allison. "And Scott and Stiles are probably gonna faint when they see you guys." She admired them again, proud of herself. She had snuck off with Scott and Stiles extra jerseys and made sure they were both wearing them. She had on Issac's and Kira was wearing Jackson's like usual, and she thought this was the perfect opportunity to torture her best friends a little bit. And maybe Lydia since she tried to fight it at first, but eventually lost out to the always persistent Malia Tate. They might have given the girl more of a break if they thought she wasn't actually interested in Stiles, but you could tell just by looking at her wait for him to come out that wasn't the case at all.

Lydia was pretty excited, for a lot of reasons. The atmosphere in this place was electric, people buzzing and strangers engaging in conversation. She was really enjoying the company of the girls, and she hadn't seen Stiles and Scott since Wednesday in Deaton's class, and she really wanted to see them play. The hype that had filled the school in the last couple days was infectious and she was interested.

She was a little worried about Stiles though. He seemed super distracted in class, besides the conversation about their assignment and meeting up Friday to get started, and his occasional glance at her he didn't say much else or really even act like she was there. She could of blamed it on taking notes and paying attention, but he didn't do that either. Just fiddled and played chess on his laptop for 3 of the 4 hours they sat there. It's not that the silence bugged her but it did make you wonder what was on his mind.

Being in the rink now with the booing fans as the away team made their way onto the ice, the whole place already on their feet at the anticipation of their team coming out next, she was beginning to realize that the pressure of succeeding might have had a lot to do with his wandering mind.

Lydia stood with the other girls, clapping and cheering as the guys shuffled onto the ice quickly, all of them shooting off in different directions, shouting with the crowd and slapping their sticks against the walls that separated them. The entire place roared in response.

Stiles had only planned on skating passed the girls and giving them a quick smile, but when he saw those damn numbers covering Lydia's body, all of his motor functions halted. The skates on his feet sent ice flying high into the air at his abrupt action. Lydia smiled at him, because the slight awe on his face was almost adorable and extremely flattering. "kick their ass!" She shouted.

The huge smile that broke out on his face as he nodded at her was enough to have her questioning her morals, before she quickly got ahold of herself. Scott was by his side in moments, winking at the ladies before they both quickly made their way to center ice. Lydia watched as Stiles threw up some sign with his fingers to Issac from behind his back as he took his position in the center of the rink, and when she glanced to Issac all she could see was a huge smirk through the cage of his helmet.

The change in demeanor when the guys took their positions and faced off against their opponent was so palpable and serious it actually felt like the whole place was ten degrees hotter. She watched the horrible grin creep over Stiles' face when Issac smacked his stick loud against the ice from his goal post, scaring the shit out of the other players and some of the audience, causing them all to jump right after the referee dropped the puck, and Stiles was gone with it before the away teams center could land back on his feet.

Lydia and Allison both had their jaws on the floor as they watched Stiles spin away from someone before seemingly passing it to Jackson on the other side of the rink. It wasn't until half of the other team shuffled towards him that Stiles kicked the puck back from where he had hid it between his skates, to a waiting Scott, who sent it soaring right passed their goalie and into the net.

"Holy shit!"

Kira looked over to Lydia with a big smile. "Yep."

Okay, now granted yes this game had only started 30 seconds ago but that was one of the most impressive things Lydia had seen on an ice rink, and she was a figure skater for all of her adolescent life. She couldn't help the smile on her face when Stiles spun around and wrapped Scott in a hug, before sending a proud nod to Issac, who pointed a finger at him in return. Lydia smiled at the sight, realizing that was their own little pay back to last year and it had probably been Stiles' idea, and it was genius.

The rest of the game had been good, with a lot of her new friends getting into more fights with people than she had anticipated. She knew it was violent game, but seeing Stiles getting slammed into a hard wall, or Scott throwing a punch at someone was going to take time to get used to. It had still been a great time though, and we had won. 3-1 with the other two shots being made by Jackson, all with the help of a pretty incredible Stiles.

"So who's as hungry as I am?" Issac asked as he walked up to the girls sitting on the bench. Scott and Stiles were a little ways behind him talking to their coach.

Kira jumped up and gave him a hug. "Y'all kicked ass, good job!"

"Seriously that was badass." Allison added as they all stood. "And I could definitely go for some food."

"Same here." Lydia added, "good job too." She winked at him jokingly.

Kira placed a firm hand on Issac's arm when he stepped forward to tease her back. "I don't think Stiles will wait for practice to clobber you twice." She gave him a stern look and he raised his hands in defense. "I'm sorry Ms. Lydia." He winked back, wrapping a friendly arm around Kira when Scott and Stiles finally walked up.

Lydia raised her eyebrows at their conversation before Allison wrapping Scott in hug took all of her attention. She looked up to Stiles when he moved to stand next to her and nudged her arm.

"Hey, good job Stud." She smirked at him, pushing her side up against his. He looked a little tired and his hair was still wet from his shower but he gave her a wide, happy smile as soon as she spoke and she had missed the relaxed look that was now back on his features.

"Thank you." He smiled back at her, keeping his hands in his pockets to fight off any urge to touch her that might scare her off. He was pretty nervous she wouldn't enjoy herself or it would of been a bad game and since neither seemed to be the case now he let himself take a breath, but he wasn't gonna let anything else mess this up. And she was still in his jersey and he hadn't looked below her chin since he walked out because he was worried he was going to drop dead.

"Ok can we please go to IHOP before I faint." Issac sighed, clutching his stomach with a pout.

"Yes," Malia clapped her hands together. "Stiles drive Scott, Allison and Lydia and I'll drive us." She looked to Kira and Issac, who were about to argue because Malia's driving scared the crap out of them, before she gave them a curt smile. They looked over to the other four and Issac actually muttered and "oh" before quickly nodding in agreement and telling them they'd meet them there before running off.

"They can't possibly think that they aren't completely obvious, right?" Allison asked, her hand gestured in the direction her new friends had just ran off to. Scott sighed as he put a hand on her back.

Lydia had to hold back her laugh when she looked up to Stiles and saw the obvious annoyance covering his handsome features. He let out a breath as he looked down to her. "I am so sorry I-" The air stopped in his throat when he met her eyes and she was smiling openly at him. "What?"

"I don't mind riding with you." She shrugged, brushing her shoulder against his arm.

His smirked turned a little confident. "Maybe not so much of an ass huh?" Lydia whipped her head around to a few girls that shouted to he and Scott they did a good job as they walked to their cars. She rolled her eyes as she turned back to him and saw him waving with a big smile before he looked back to her, his eyes slowly looking her up and down for the first time. She had forgot she was wearing his jersey up until she watched his eyes grow a shade darker and she deliberately moved away from him to bring his attention back to her face. It did. "Definitely still an ass."

He laughed softly, winking at her before they started to walk towards the parking lot. "So how mean is it to ditch them and go to Chick-fil-A?" Scott asked as they climbed into the jeep. He gladly let Lydia have the passenger seat and sat in the back, his arm wrapped around Allison as he chuckled when she punched him.

"Mean and genius. Chick-fil-A it is." He smiled back at him as he turned his engine on.

"You guys can come to the apartment and eat if you want. It's clean and we have the biggest collection of tv shows you could imagine. Even the girly ones." Scott smiled proudly at Allison who fought back the urge to kiss him because he was perfect.

Lydia turned back to him and only had to look at Allison for a second before answering. "Sounds fun." She smiled, turning to face forward.

When Allison and Scott looked to each other, they had the same knowing smirks on their face. "Yes it does." Allison added for measure. Lydia could convince herself all she wanted she was doing this for Allison but she wasn't gonna fight it forever.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, let me just wrap my head around this," Lydia rolled her eyes at Allison through her vanity as she applied her lipstick. "You're about to hang out with Stiles for the third time in a week," Lydia sighed as she spun around in her chair. "And then after that you have a date?"

The judgement on Allison's face almost made her mad, because she didn't understand the issue here. A guy asked her on a date and she said yes. What in the hell was the problem? "Seems like you understand just fine." Allison scoffed, tossing her head back.

"But," Lydia added and Allison met her eyes, "I'll elaborate. Yes this will be our third time hanging out, the first being at a party where he didn't acknowledge me until he was jealous because I was dancing with his friend, the second was after the game because I know and support the fact that you like Scott, and I don't want you guys subjected to a third wheel," Allison scoffed again at that, because she didn't buy it for a second. "And now we're hanging out because we have a huge assignment in a class that were partners in and is detrimental to our graduation." Lydia sighed, throwing in the last bit when Allison's look didn't waver. "And Jordan asked me out at orientation, before I even knew what the hell a Stiles was." She finished, turning back to her make-up. This had been a circle of a thirty minute conversation and she was so done talking about it.

"Oh." Was all Allison had to say and it was a relief to Lydia. Stiles was supposed to be here soon and she really would prefer if he wasn't a part of this conversation. "So you do like Stiles then?"

Lydia squinted at her. "I barely know Stiles!"

"Do you know Jordan?"

"No, but Jordan asked me out. Stiles, on the other hand, has not, so I'm not seeing the problem."

"Ok, I need one thing."

"What?" Lydia asked with little patience.

"Even though you don't really know him, are you interested in him?"

"Who? Jordan? I mean I said yes to a date with him." She shrugged. He was mannered, didn't ask deep questions, and didn't look at her like no one else existed. Just her type and nothing like a certain someone else.

"No, are you interested in Stiles?"

Stiles' fist was in a forward motion when he heard Allison's voice and froze. He knew she was talking to Lydia and he felt his stomach hit the floor at all of the possible answers that could come out of her mouth. He almost considered walking away for a moment just to not put himself through it. Almost.

Lydia looked at Allison, who had moved to sit on her bed, and really considered the question. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the right words as her eyes moved around the room thoughtfully. Allison was about to wave a hand in front of her face, when she finally spoke up. "I... no?" Allison's eyebrows crinkled together with concern and Lydia figured that it wasn't for her. "Look, I think he's a friendly guy, he's smart, and he's nice to look at it," they smiled at each other for a second before she continued. "But have you even considered how interested in me he is? Or, what it is that he's interested in?" Allison looked at her like she was stupid, because no, not once did it cross her mind that Stiles just wanted to have sex with Lydia.

Stiles' eyebrows shot up as well, because he was trying as hard as possible to make it obvious that wasn't the case. Of course he wouldn't mind, but she was so much more than that and he thought he was making that clear to her. He listened to her, he didn't push himself on her or make too many flirty remarks, even if it was difficult. Yet, she still had the same crazy perception of him being a player. And yes, it was crazy because Stiles didn't know the first thing about girls or being a player. Sure, he had some experience but he was definitely no Fabio. He just genuinely liked the girl on the other side of the door, and had made some rash decisions because of it.

"I'm serious, Allison. You and his friends are so caught up in playing matchmaker you're not even seeing the big picture. There's girls all over this school that will just throw themselves at him because he plays hockey and has a nice car, and he knows that. He thinks he can waltz around with his stupid grin and say a few words to me and I'm just supposed to melt into a puddle on the floor. I'm not that pathetic."

Allison already looked defeated but she continued anyways, because she was sick of feeling like this was all on her. "Has he done anything more than tell me I'm pretty? No. And he won't try to because guys like him aren't interested in something they have to work for. He's not out here trying to take me on a date, because that's not what he wants. He just wants another notch in his bed post, and I'm not gonna be the slut that gives it to him. Stiles is an asshole, Allison, who just expects me to fawn over him because he's thinks he's better than everyone else and can have what he wants. So no, I'm not interested in Stiles and yes, I'm definitely going on a date with Jordan tonight." Lydia finished, louder than she anticipated. She hadn't meant to get so worked up over it, but the thoughts had been looming in her mind and all seemed to fly out at once.

Allison sighed, regret filling every bit of her body for being the meddlesome person she was. They would just be so damn cute. She knew Stiles wasn't that person either, but she also knew there was absolutely no arguing with Lydia right now, so she kept her mouth shut.

"And if anyone else expected that, they're an asshole too." She gave Allison a pointed look, but Allison never met her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lydia." And she meant it, she felt bad. If she would of known Lydia felt so strongly about this she would of left it alone. "I'm gonna get out of here." She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, happy she hadn't put on anything comfy after her classes. This room was becoming super small and she wanted to bolt out of there as quickly as possible.

Stiles was so frozen in shock, he hadn't even thought about reacting to Allison saying she was leaving even though he was standing right in front of their door, and had plenty of warning. He couldn't believe Lydia thought so lowly of him. Sure she had called him a asshole before but he told her it wasn't like that, and he meant it. Stiles was not someone who just chased around girls aimlessly. It had actually been a few months since he had even hooked up with anyone, because no one else had sparked his interest. Now that Lydia Martin had, he wasn't sure if he could of focused on anyone else, even if he wanted to. Stiles was pushed back into reality when the door swung open, and he faintly heard Allison say his name.

"I am sorry." Allison offered again over her shoulder, before opening the door. She only took a step before she noticed the tall figure in front of her. She immediately relaxed when she realized it was Stiles, but that emotion only lasted a moment, because when she took in the stone expression on his face and the sad look in his open eyes she wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. "Stiles? How... how long have you been out here?"

Lydia spun around so quickly it made Stiles look her way. The same look of horror was masked on both of their faces, but the flicker in his eye only lasted a second, before he quickly straightened himself up.

His eyes flashed back to Allison, and a sudden smile came to his face. "Uh, just now actually. You had perfect timing, didn't even get the chance to lift my hand up to knock." He walked passed her into the room, putting the books in his hands down on Lydia's bed.

Allison didn't believe him, but she was also so done butting in for the night. "Well, that's good then." She nodded at him and sent Lydia a look of sympathy. "Happy studying." She offered with a wave, as she left, closing the door behind her. She wasted no time picking up her phone and calling Scott.

"Stiles-"

"Hey Lydia," He smiled, interrupting her on purpose. He was gonna stay and work on the project because he knew he had too, but he didn't want to talk about anything else. He wasn't sure how to react to any of this shit right now. "So I hope you don't mind, but I went to the library and picked up a few books on chemical agents and warfare. Even found one by D. Hank Ellison that the internet told me I'd never find." He held it up and wiggled his eyebrows, she arched one in return as she watched him spastically sling his backpack on her bed and pull a computer out of it. "I got Issac to let me borrow his laptop too. He's a computer science major and he's got all this bad ass simulation software that I'm pretty sure I can tweak to compare different chemical attacks in different places with different levels. Maybe even the effects of different body types. I think it'll look pretty amazing with our presentation too." He smiled enthusiastically at her, but it fell when she just continued to stare at him with some unreadable expression.

He looked her up and down for a second, and hated himself immediately. She looked stunning as always and he knew it was because she had a date later, and it made him sick to his stomach. "Or, you know we could do something else." He shrugged, letting the laptop slide back into his bag along with his confidence. "Or another time?" She was still staring at him and it was starting to dawn on him that he might bother her. The only reason they were even partners was because he forced it, and he instantly felt guilty at the thought.

The change of sound in his voice seemed to bring Lydia out of her day dream, which she was thankful for, because Stiles coming in here prepared and full of ideas was not something she had expected and she was really trying to keep it together, because she was really trying not to like him and he was really freaking likable. What she wasn't thankful for, however, was how sad he looked. She was trying hard to believe he didn't hear anything she and Allison were talking about, but nothing about his sudden change in demeanor from the usual happy, confident Stiles to this, backed that up.

"No! No, that sounds really cool." She finally said, and Stiles let out a breath, his small smile coming back to his face. She felt the pressure on her chest lighten at the sight, but ignored it. "I'm actually pretty excited to get started on this." And she was, especially if he was as ready to not talk and get to work as she was. "It's just funny," she added as she stood, walking to her bookcase and pulling something out. "I own that book."

She smiled over her shoulder as she held it up, her perfect teeth and hazel eyes glowing back at him, and Stiles suddenly felt the most sober he's ever felt in his life at the sight. She was so beautiful and elegant and he was in way over his head. He gave her a smile as he approached her 8 foot bookcase that took up the only other space she had in the room, besides her bed and vanity. For some reason, the fact that she owned some rare book about chemical warfare didn't surprise him, but he was still in awe as he looked over some of the books in front him. There wasn't novels about love or adventure everywhere like you might expect. Lydia Martin owned nothing but books on philosophy, medicine and the occasional biography of some influential person that probably changed the world in ways he knew nothing about. "Is this book in French?" He pulled it off the shelf and skimmed through it momentarily.

He heard her laugh softly. "Sure is. It's one of my favorites too."

"You speak French?"

"Oui, et sept autres langues aussi."

Stiles looked over to the beautiful girl next to him with a entirely new look in his eyes that excited her for some reason. "What?" She asked.

He blinked at her for a moment more, and involuntary looked her up and down, slightly gauging the fact she was staring at him too. He was almost expecting some smart ass remark from her, because Stiles was sure he looked pathetic right now. Lydia just mesmerized him every single time he was with her and her speaking in French to him brought thoughts to his head that weren't the least bit respectful and she looked so damn good in the tiny little floral dress she was wearing and he was a weak, weak human being. He turned to look at her, leaning against the bookcase in the process. "You speak seven languages?"

Lydia smiled at the look in his eye, because he wasn't surprised. It was something else she couldn't quite pinpoint but it didn't bother her like his usual looks. She mirrored his actions and faced him. "You understood me."

He smiled wickedly at her, leaning into her a little. "J'ai appris le français au lycée."

She raised an eyebrow at him, looking over his face a moment. He sure was cute, and it was a problem because somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she had a date tonight and she had just went off on Allison because she didn't like him. And she didn't. He just smelled good, smirked all the time, and talked back to her. It worked her up and was a horrible distraction for the normal, common sense mindset she usually put forth.

Stiles gave her a knowing smirk, because he knew she was checking him out and this was the first time he ever felt like he had the upper hand on her. If we're being honest he still probably didn't because she was... her, but it helped his ego considering she didn't have anything nice to say about him. Yet. "What?" He stepped closer to her, twirling a stray hand of her beautiful, wild hair between his fingers. "Did you think you were the only smart person in the room?"

Lydia chuckled darkly at his words, glancing down at his hand for a moment. The look in her eye when she met his was playful even though her voice was serious. "You're mocking me?" She stepped closer to him and his hand fell to her waist involuntarily. "That's awfully brave."

He shrugged, smiling a little when her palm rested on his chest. "You make me brave." It was meant to be a cheesy joke to lighten the sudden change in her mood, but the determined look in Lydia's eyes made him gulp.

"How brave?" Lydia asked with a perfectly arched brow and his eyes grew wide with shock. Was she flirting with him? He glanced down at her hand again, which now had a slight grip on his grey Henley. He looked up to find that while she still seemed relaxed, her eyes weren't playful anymore, and her plump bottom lip was pulled between her teeth. She was definitely flirting with him. Now it was the why aspect that he needed to figure out, because he distinctly remembered her trying to convince Allison he was a scum bag who slept around and that she didn't want him only fifteen minutes ago.

After looking into her wide, expecting eyes, it only took a moment for him to realize she was testing him. For some reason she really seemed to need to convince herself, and maybe everyone else that all he wanted was sex. Even if it meant going to levels he was sure she wasn't ready for, like coming onto him in her dorm room even though she didn't trust him. Until she did, Stiles was just going to patiently prove her wrong.

He placed his hand back on her waist, smiling at her mouth parting slightly when he made her step closer to him. "Really brave. And even more afraid."

She held his soft gaze for a moment, while she started to toy with his shirt fabric that was still firmly in her grip. The effect she seemed to have on him excited her in ways she wasn't proud of, but when his breath hitched at her actions, she still smirked. "Can you still be brave if you're afraid?" She asked, her gaze fixed on the hand that's touching him. There was a small, teasing smile on her face that almost knocked the air out of him.

He gently grabbed her hand as she started to make her way down his stomach. The feeling of heat that left him at her hip returned when his fingers brushed her palm and it only took her eyes snapping to their joined hands for Stiles to know she felt it too. The heat surrounding them, the pull that made him walk over to her earlier in the week, the attraction that made him want to slam her against this book case and rip that tiny dress off her body. She felt it all too and it put him somewhere uncomfortably between extremely turned on and terribly confused. "I think that's the only time someone can be brave." He answered, smiling warmly at her, before laying a kiss on her knuckles. "You ready to get started?"

Lydia was so lost in whatever she had worked up that she almost thought Stiles was talking about sex, when she remembered the whole reason he was even here, in her dorm, kissing her hand once... twice.

Stiles gave her a fake pout when she pulled her hand away. "Our project." She answered, mostly for herself. When she met his eyes they were glowing happily, and she couldn't find the strength to yell at him for kissing her and risk taking that handsome look away. "Yeah." She took a breath, finally breaking their concentration when she glanced to the pile on her bed. "You should show me that software." She said, their eyes locking again.

The smile he gave her was one she hadn't seen before, on anyone, and it made her tingle. He was genuinely excited at the thought of showing her something he had come up with, and it made her feel good that her partner was someone who was as passionate about this as she was. If he was going to drive her nuts, at least she knew it wouldn't mess with her two most important classes right now.

"I worked on the algorithm for a few hours, and I've got the basics of the simulations ready to go. I need your genius to comb through it, though. All the Adderall in the world and I would still never be able to pay that much attention to detail." He was rambling as he gazed at the open laptop, his fingers dancing on the keyboard as he typed something.

She smiled at his words, because he overwhelmed her with confidence and it was foreign territory to her. No guy, not even her father, had ever inquired her opinion or respected her role in things, and it was a nice change. He took a small step away from the computer when the software pulled up, and she immediately took his place. "Stiles, you take notes with a color wheel and play chess in your spare time, you don't get much more attentive than that."

Stiles smirked at the back of her leaning figure, letting his eyes wander down to her exposed, creamy thighs for a moment. He crossed his arms over his chest to hold in his will power, the thoughts of her noticing those things about him only making him weaker. "I guess you prove a good point." Stiles answered, looking up when he heard her begin typing fiercely. Stiles couldn't hold back his smirk at her quick thinking. "Hacked some software systems before, Ms. Martin?"

Lydia threw a smirk back at him over her shoulder, and then glanced back to the laptop. "Is that judgement I hear?" She retorted, in that sexy, stern voice he was never gonna get used to.

"Pride." Stiles corrected, winking at her when she whipped her head back to him. Her smile was soft when their eyes met, her dimples and the blush on her cheeks showing and Stiles was sure he felt his stomach flip at the sight. He smiled back at her, and then his eyes moved to the computer in front of both of them. He leaned in, his smile now a big smirk as he watched his original simulation come to life in a way he never could of imagined. "That's incredible." He admired.

Lydia smiled at his words as she watched the computer in front of her. "You had a great idea, I'm just being a good partner." She nudged him with her shoulder playfully. "Now let's do some research and see what kind of twisted compare and contrast scenarios we can come up with." She clapped her hands excitedly as she spoke.

Stiles swiftly caught the book Lydia tossed his way, an excited smile beaming on her face. "I had a feeling this was gonna be your favorite part." He said, smiling back at her as he sat sideways on her bed, leaning his back against her wall.

* * *

Stiles took his apartment steps two at time, whistling as he climbed them. He had finished with Lydia about an hour ago, and then went to the gym to get some time in. Now, he was ready to eat half the fridge and relax for the rest of the night.

That nice thought lasted all of five seconds, because when he swung the apartment door open and saw who was standing in his living room, he knew this night had only begun. Stiles glanced at the people around the room, who were now giving him the same courtesy. He noticed Allison sitting in the corner, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would Scott let her stay with Argent here? Argent in town only means one thing, and he was sure Allison had no idea about their world. "What's going on?" He asked hesitantly as he met Chris' eyes.

"There's a threat." Scott answered.

Stiles eyebrows perked up, his eyes moving past Scott and straight to Allison. "She knows." Scott added.

"She's my daughter." Argent adds, and Stiles looked back to him, visibly confused.

"What?" Their pack and the Argents had never been friends, just allies who worked together when things were bad enough. Honestly, they only ever see him when something horrible happens, or is going to, but it still surprised him he had a family somewhere. Something about him just seemed so hallow and lonely. He turned back to Allison. "You're the daughter of a hunter?"

"She is a hunter." Chris answered, a look of almost pride on his face. No one had ever seen him with a positive expression on his face before, it was eerie.

"Why am I the last person figuring this out?"

"Because you weren't here an hour ago when the rest of us did." Derek answered, his jaw clenched. He was pissed Argent kept this from them for so long.

"It's not like I run around hunting mythical creatures all night, I'm just trained." She added in, because Stiles was looking at her as though she was a stranger right now. Allison didn't blame him, hunters had a notorious reputation, but McCall's pack had always kept a good relationship with her father, and she had heard him vouch for them multiples times in meetings with other hunters.

"I didn't tell her who anyone was, I was hoping she would have a normal college experience and fly under the radar since she's never met any of you. The first two years were fine." Chris knew he had to explain things, and make sure they didn't think Allison was spying for him or something crazy. He knew he could trust them. "I should have known she'd end up being partners with freaking Scott." He chuckled, because things like this usually came full circle and kicked his ass, yet he never learned. "That's got nothing to do with why I'm here, though."

Stiles gave him his full attention. If there was a threat, that is what he would worry about now, he could get to the bottom of everyone's secrets later. "What kind of threat are we talking about?"

"Well, that's where it gets a little complicated." Stiles' attention moved to Allison, who had taken over the conversation. He knew women were in charge in a hunters way of life, and he wondered briefly if that was Allison.

"We thought it was Lydia."

"Why would Lydia be a threat?" Everyone noticed the anger rise up in Stiles as he spoke, his eyes locked on hers.

"Because she's a banshee."

What. The. Fuck. "A banshee? Banshees are dead spirits! Does Lydia seem dead to you?!" Stiles was so beyond lost right now, and he didn't like the idea of Lydia having to be apart of this world. At least not in such a negative way. He couldn't even think about something happening to her, it made him sick to his stomach.

"Not exactly. The dictionary definition of a banshee is... desolate." Allison stood, trying to become eye level with Stiles. He looked as though his head was going to pop off and she felt bad. "She has a spirit within her. No telling how. She can sense death, that much is true, but she's also powerful."

"Powerful?" Stiles repeated.

"Yes. She has a scream... that she can control, with practice. It's deadly."

"A scream? Like screams at you and you die?"

"In a short version."

Stiles took a breath. His mind was going in circles, trying to pick everything apart. The funny thing is, in all of this, it made him feel good that she could protect herself. "With practice? Does she practice? Does she know she's a banshee?" This was too much.

"Yes, but she doesn't know that we know. And she can't tell what everyone else is either." Stiles let out another breath at that. "Her mother is one as well. Yes, she made her practice and taught her about other creatures and shape shifters. They've never had any threats brought to them though, they have always lived normal lives. Just knew they had special powers, and kept it a secret."

"I knew though." Argent started. "My father and her grandfather had an agreement years ago that his family could continue on, as long as they kept their peace."

It sounds a lot like the agreement he had with their pack, Stiles thought. "How does that put us here?" He breathed out, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's always been my duty to make sure they kept that promise," he continued. "Everything was going fine until Lydia moved out. I was worried she would do something... bad."

"Why?" Stiles actually looked offended.

"She was a young girl, with incredible powers, and a great ability to use them. That worries someone in my line of work." Chris gave him a pointed look as he spoke.

"So what? You made Allison her roommate to keep an eye on her?" He was being sarcastic, but when Allison and Chris both had the same look on their face, his mouth fell open. "Are you guys crazy?!"

"We're trying to make sure everyone is safe, Stiles." Allison spoke in a stern voice Stiles didn't expect.

"But you found out she's not a threat?" He asked, remembering her earlier words.

"Yeah. I mean, nothing is set in stone, but I think Lydia just wants to be a normal college student." She shrugged, her words making Stiles visibly relax. "There is still a problem, though."

She had Stiles' attention again. "Why do I feel like this still has something to do with Lydia?" He would honestly have no problem killing someone if they brought her into this and put her in danger.

"We think that people are after her."

Stiles grew a few shades whiter in front of everybody's eyes. "Who?" He barely got out. "What are they?"

"Hellhounds." The look on Stiles face told Allison she didn't have to explain what that was. "There's a small pack, three of them, that have been lurking around the California mountains for awhile. We didn't want to cross their path until we did our research, and when we did what we found was pretty messed up." Allison hesitated for a moment, faltering on what to say next, and hoping Stiles wouldn't totally lose his mind over it.

"Get on with it." He gritted through his teeth, his fists clenched at his sides.

Allison glanced at Scott, who gave her a nod of encouragement. "We found out that hellhounds hunt banshees. Most hellhounds never cross one in their life, but the lucky that do, and kill her, become a sort of Alpha Hellhound. That part is fuzzy, because it's only happened a few times in our history."

"Are you saying a Hellhound is hunting Lydia?" He couldn't breathe.

"We knew it was possible, but there was never proof. They never left the mountains, never went near her family or her, so we were just keeping an eye on her. It's not as though supernatural creatures can sense what she is, so we just hoped they would eventually take off. That was another reason we made Allison her roommate." Chris answered, taking a step closer to a shaking Stiles. "Until Allison called me today."

"My father had given me the names of them, he found them in his research." Allison watched as Stiles eyes started to move around the room, the thoughts in his head going a mile a minute, figuring out everything before she even got the words out. "Jordan, Aiden, and Ethan."

"Jordan." Stiles repeated, his eyes flashing back to Allison's. Allison felt her stomach drop, and not just because he had heard she and Lydia's conversation this afternoon. He looked absolutely horrified. She watched him take a breath, his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through his hair. When he looked back up to Allison, they were a bright blue. "Where is she?" He growled.


	4. Chapter 4

Scott moved quickly from the other side of the room, weaving through Derek, Chris, and Allison to stand in front of Stiles. The second his hand touched Stiles' arm, he had his undivided attention. "Put your claws away."

Stiles' blue eyes didn't waver, but he stayed obediently still. "We are wasting time standing here!" The thoughts of Lydia already somewhere in danger crossed his mind again and his anger bubbled back to the surface. His glare met Chris' eyes. "You should of told us. We could of all been protecting her!"

"She can protect herself." Chris shot back immediately. "Just because you think that your pack are the heroes in every situation does not mean that it was your business, Stiles." His finger was pointing at him now, and it surprisingly made Stiles relax. Scott figured it was because despite how mad he was, he was hearing what he had to say. "You get to choose who you tell your secrets to, and she should too." Stiles snapped his eyes shut, using everything in his will power to keep the growl in the back of his throat. The fact that Argent was right didn't make him feel any better about this, but somewhere in his mind he also knew it wasn't their fault that Hellhounds were hunting Lydia, and that was what he needed to gear his anger towards.

"They're here now, mate." Issac's British accent startled everyone. The weight of the situation had made the room seem so small, most had forgot it was full of people. He quickly passed everyone, standing next to Scott. "They came to us for help now. That's more important than what has already happened. So you have to calm down so we can figure out quickly what in the hell to do."

Stiles let out a breath for the first time, his eyes clenched shut and his fists balled up. He was seeing red flashes behind his eyes, numerous memories of Lydia passing through his mind that only made his gut tighter with worry. After a moment everything slowed down, an image of her gripping a book in her hand and beaming a huge smile at him the only thing left and suddenly, more sudden than his pull to that beautiful woman, his anger disappeared. This time when he looked to Allison, his eyes were deep brown and filled with sadness. "Do you know where she is?"

"Yes. We've had two of our guys keeping a close eye. They left the dorms 20 minutes ago." Stiles shoulders relaxed. "And she really can protect herself, she's no damsel in distress. I promise." Allison was trying to sound reassuring, because Stiles freaking out anymore wasn't going to help the situation.

Stiles scoffed. "I don't think she's a damsel in distress." Allison watched his brown eyes lighten to a gold at whatever thought came to his mind. "I just don't want her to have to fight alone."

Stiles' voice was soft, his eyes cast downward. Allison watched Scott lean into him and whisper something in his ear. Stiles simply nodded at whatever he heard, before moving his eyes to Issac's. "We promise." Was all she heard the blonde boy say.

"They just sat down in the theatre. Dean said it's packed, and they're in the row behind them." Argent was looking down to his phone as he spoke, before suddenly looking up to everyone. "They won't do anything in a theatre. We have until the movies over to figure this out."

"Did she tell you anything else about the date? Do you know if they had plans to go eat too?" Kira spoke up, motioning to Allison. "I mean, you don't just go to the movies on a date, do you?"

Allison sighed, because she was pretty mad at herself for being so shocked about her going on a date with Jordan, that she didn't even think about investigating more. Her plan was to play it off like some advocate for Stiles, but even that got her into trouble. She was better than that, and she promised herself she wouldn't be this careless again. "No, I didn't get anything else."

"And she doesn't have any friends? No one that would know?"

"What about her friends from the party? That guy and his boyfriend." Malia asked.

Jackson jumped from the couch, slightly surprising everyone that he was even listening right now. "Theo! He's in one of my classes, I have his number. You want me to call him and see if he knows anything?"

"You're just gonna call him and ask what the plans for her date are? That's not creepy." Stiles squinted and Jackson flipped him off.

"Not exactly." Jackson answered, scrolling through his phone.

"If they know she's a banshee, we could sort of tell them the truth." Kira shrugged. "Probably not the part where they want to kill her, but can't we say we're worried?"

"They do know." Argent elaborated.

"That means that we would need to tell them about us, and we're not bringing any more people into this." Scott interrupted, and Jackson looked like he might argue for a second, but he just put his phone away instead. "Let's get ready and get to the theatre. We'll follow them if they go somewhere else and work it out then. And if they try to take her directly after the movie, we'll already be there waiting."

"So no plan then? We're just gonna show up and kill them?" Malia was pacing around, seemingly thinking out loud. She stopped on a dime, turning her heels to face Scott with amusement on her face. "Are we killing them?"

"I..." Scott glanced back to Stiles in hopes of gauging his reaction, but there wasn't much of one. He was standing in the same spot by the door since this all began, his fists balled at his sides and his eyes glued to some wall past everyone else. This was the first time in years he had seen Stiles have to try so hard to not shift. He was the one person you could count on to always be fully in control. He was different than everyone else. Maybe because he was the last person bit, and saw what everyone else went through. Maybe because he never wanted it, and it was only to save his life. Either way his humanity was always intact, he didn't use his extra abilities to play sports, he never listened in on people's conversations. He could even hold back his healing when he was hurt. It was incredible and set an example for everyone to follow. They say that a pack makes you stronger because they do, but it's because they all share their strengths with each other. He kept everyone human, and they needed it. "We'll do whatever is necessary. But if we get an opportunity to get her out of there, take it. We don't know what these guys are capable of, or what they know about us."

"So we just let them live because we don't know if we will win or who we might piss off?" Scott nodded furiously, because it sounded like an even better idea when Malia said it. "That's never stopped us before." Scott gave her a weary look.

"He is right." Argent took a step closer to everyone. "Going into this wanting to fight until the death is only going to get a lot of people hurt, maybe even killed." He gave a knowing look to Kira and Malia, who were staring daggers into him with their arms crossed. "We need to get her to safety and tell her everything that's going on. These hellhounds won't leave, they'll try again at some point, but if they know she's got people protecting her we could scare them off long enough to do our own research."

"Can I ask a question with the risk of getting hit in the face?" Everyone looked towards Jackson. "What are we going to do if this is some guy with the same name and she's just on a normal date?" They all gave him the same stupid look.

Derek put a hand on his shoulder. "Jackson, how long have we been dealing with the supernatural?"

"Well it's been six years since your uncle bit you both." He shrugged.

"And when, in six years, has it ever been that easy?"

Jackson sighed, rubbing his temples. "It was worth a shot."

"Um, we need to go right now." Argent was looking at his phone again. "They just left the movies early for some reason. The guys weren't able to leave right after without looking suspicious so they're trying to catch up now." There was a minor clicking, and a slight 'whoosh' sound that could be heard under his words, but it wasn't until he looked up that he noticed the only people still standing in the room were Kira, Jackson, Allison and himself.

"They'll get there quicker running." Kira tried to offer an explanation.

"I'll drive." Was all he responded.

"I got her scent!" Stiles shouted, hopping over the chain link fence that was in his way effortlessly. He picked it up as soon as they rounded the alley behind the theatre.

"She's close!" Scott agreed, their feet leaving rubble behind as they fiercely hit the pavement.

"Lydia!" Stiles shouted at the top of his lungs, stopping in his tracks when a burning smell started to fade over her sweet strawberry scent. "Do you smell that?" Stiles turned around to ask his pack.

Derek nodded as he came to a screeching stop. "It's a hellhound."

Malia let out a huff as she kicked her front paw against the dirt a few times, a tell that the wild animal in her was sensing something coming and they needed to be aware. She let out a low growl when her friends ignored her, focusing on whatever they were talking about.

As soon as the warning growl hit their ears, it was gone and a toe curling scream echoed through the dark alley that sent the whole pack to their knees. "Fuck!" Derek growled, his yellow eyes and sharp fangs glowing in the moon light as he crouched down instinctively. Malia instantly hunched over, her paws covering her ears as she whimpered. Issac used whatever strength was in him to lunge towards her and cover her body with his in an attempt to comfort her, his hands covering his own ears.

"What the hell is that?!" Scott shouted, his red ones clenched shut as he stumbled against a wall, fighting to stay on his feet. He crumbled with his head in his hands when the wailing only continued.

Stiles blue eyes were wide as he looked over his pack, all of which had shifted under the scream. He knew he had as well. "That's Lydia." He answered immediately, standing despite his haunting urge to curl into a ball. He was sure it was Lydia and he was going to make it to her even if it hurt. Even if it took everything in him. The scream was steady and continuous, the pounding in his head growing when he tried to focus on where it was coming from. There was a light behind his eyes every time he tried to open them so he gave up, and just tried to concentrate on moving his feet.

"Stiles don't go alone!" He heard Issac yell from his hunched position on the floor protecting Malia.

"Lydia!" He shouted again, rounding a corner of the alley near the street. His anxiety was roaring it's ugly head and he was just trying to move his feet, repeating Chris' words in his mind in a feeble attempt to calm down. _'She can protect herself_ '. The screaming stopped but his ears were ringing loudly, and his long claws were piercing his skin from his attempts to control himself. He could smell blood in the air, and when he felt a cool drip down his chin, he knew it was his ears that were bleeding. All it took was her red hair to get his attention back and stop him in his tracks, his eyes focused on her back for a moment before he let them drift down to the burning body laid out in front of her. "Lydia?"

Stiles' voice was softer this time and it caused her to spin around, jumping back from him when their eyes met. She knew the rough voice was Stiles, but the bright blue eyes staring back at her looked like a stranger. Lydia knew a werewolf when she saw one, her mom had spent years teaching her all about supernatural threats, even though they never seemed to actually threaten her. Until now. He seemed to catch on immediately, his hands raising in defense. "I won't hurt you, Lydia."

"Stay away from me." Her voice was steady, and he knew she wasn't scared. Lydia was giving him a fair warning as she looked the werewolf up and down.

"I promise, Lydia. I just want to make sure you're safe. Please look at me." She did as he said and met his eyes again. He held her gaze for a second, and then gave her a single nod, and closed his eyes. She watched his face soften, the long nails on his fingers retract and his perfect teeth come back into view. Her eyes flickered back up to his and she let out a breathy sigh at the doe brown that met hers. "I can control it." He took a step closer to her after a second and this time she didn't sway.

"You're a werewolf." Not a question, she never did ask many of those. She also didn't seem nervous. He wasn't sure if it was because she could kill him in an instant or because she trusted him, but he would take it either way.

"Yes. And you're a banshee." He smirked, looking down at the body behind her. "You did that."

"I... I didn't mean to hurt him, Stiles, I swear. He tried to attack me. And he was freaking ignited in flames. What in the fuck even... _oh_." Realization covered Lydia's face and he knew he didn't even have to say it, she knew it was a hellhound. Not that it surprised him. Honestly, thinking about it now, the only thing surprising was that she hadn't done the math sooner. Although this was the first time she had a second to process anything.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt him, Lydia." Stiles slowly lifted his hand and ran it down her arm in an attempt to comfort her. "You don't have to worry about us judging you, okay?"

He crouched down while he spoke and grabbed the mans wrist, placing two fingers over his pulse point. "He's dead." He assured, looking up to her wide hazel eyes.

"Us?"

Stiles stood when he heard the foot steps coming quickly from around the corner, and a car not far behind them. He realized he didn't have much time to explain, and that he didn't really know how to. Chris was going to have to take the reigns on this one. Or Allison since she seemed to be running the show. "Just don't freak out, okay? We'll explain everything, but I promise you're safe."

Lydia believed him when he said she was safe, because the way Stiles treated her was not the way someone who wanted to hurt somebody else acted. She was actually pretty sure he'd do anything in his power to make sure she didn't get hurt, but it didn't stop other questions from bubbling in her head. "Why would I freak out? You do realize I just killed someone and I haven't freaked out yet?"

There was a slight smile on his face. "Well he was trying to kill you, you better kill him first." He responded. She was a freaking badass, and she could protect herself. It was comforting.

As soon as the words left his mouth, an entire pack showed up behind Stiles, along with an SUV screeching to a halt behind them. Lydia's mouth fell open at the sight in front of her. Scott, lovely normal Scott, was fully shifted into a werewolf, with red eyes shining back at her. She knew that meant he was the alpha. Derek and Issac were behind him, shifted as well, and there was an actual freaking coyote standing next to them. Jackson was there, holding nothing more than a bat and the usual overly confident smile. She noticed Kira next, a literal red glow surrounding her, and a long sword in her hand.

It wasn't until she saw Allison that her surprise actually met her eyes though, she was standing next to older man with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder and a case of arrows on hers, with a bow firmly in her grip. Lydia used whatever strength she had left to look back to Stiles, her confused eyes hindering him. He felt his worry grow when they widened as she looked over his face. Yep, he was sure she was gonna freak out now. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we'll explain everything. Well Allison will, because I'm still confused." He gave her a hopeless smile, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I hurt you." Is all that she got out, because despite all of this craziness, when she saw the blood dried below his ears, it's all she could think about. She lifted her hand to delicately brush over his ear, surprising both of them at the heat left behind.

The rest of the pack glanced at each other in a way that was almost humorous.

"I'm okay." He smiled fully at her, taking the hand on his face and cupping it in his. "Can I take you back to the apartment?"

She nodded at him. "What about him?" She motioned to the body on the floor with her head.

"We'll take care of it." Argent answered, looking at the two men walking down the alley. "They're with me." He added, walking past everybody to approach the body with them.

"Uh, thanks." Is all Lydia could think of.

"Okay," Allison took a step forward with her hands out in defense. "I have a lot of explaining to do. Let's get to the apartment and relax and we'll go over everything." Allison knew she was talking to everyone, but she kept her eyes on Lydia. She was silently pleading with her to give her a chance, because she knew she had messed up, but it was because she was trying to do the right thing. Allison hoped she would see that by the end of this.

Lydia gave her a faint smile, because she knew how complicated this part of the world was, and she wouldn't take it personal until she had to. When Allison was done, she cocked her head up to Stiles. "Will you take me to my dorm first?" Her heart wanted to melt at the soft look in his eyes as he nodded at her.

"Just be careful," Scott stepped forward, more addressing Stiles than Lydia. "We don't know who we might have just pissed off." He looked to the body Argent and his men were carrying to the SUV. This guy had friends and they didn't already know what happened, they would soon.

Stiles nodded at him in return, and then turned to Lydia. "Do you want me to run us there?" He asked the very odd question in a normal way and it made her quirk her brow. How does that even work? "Sure?"

She only caught his mischievous smile before he scooped her up bridal style and took off running. She let out a yelp but held on tight, burying her head in his neck when the wind started to throw her hair around her face. "Asshole." She laughed into him.

It seemed like nothing more than a minute went by before his running slowed to a walk, and she felt him taking higher strides. She pulled her head out of his neck and glanced around the familiar stairwell he was walking up. A chuckle left her mouth before she spoke, "Stiles, I think I can walk now."

He was smiling with her as he put her down on the final step, with not an ounce of shame on his face. Lydia was sure he would of carried her straight to her bed if she hadn't said anything. Dirtier thoughts made their way in, and it didn't help when the hand he had been using to hold the bottom of her short dress in place smoothed out the slight wrinkle he left in the process. She fought to keep her mouth closed at the sweet little gesture. He was so sexy and he didn't even have to be a bad boy to pull it off, it was new to her. She smiled when she looked down, the strap of her purse bunched up in his other palm in a way that was probably ruining the expensive bag. He was going to kill her. The smart comment on her tongue died when he popped the door open for her, gesturing her into the hallway.

"Are you still not freaking out?" He asked as he followed her. One of the few things he knew about Lydia was that she studied everything, at all angles. She studied scenarios people would never think of, and things they were too scared to consider. And he knew it was only a matter of time before the adrenaline from saving herself and the comfort of people protecting her left and the sad and scary parts of the night took their turn.

She shrugged as she walked into her room, going immediately to her closet. It wasn't the earlier events that were freaking out as much as the emotions of right now. Pretty sick in the head considering. Stiles sat on her bed, her purse still secure in his hands as he looked around. "It's a little more real now," she threw her head over her shoulder. "I'm okay though."

He met her eyes as she spoke and nodded as a response. Just the knowledge that not even he had much to say showed how heavy the night had weighed on him, because man Stiles sure could talk. She quickly turned back to her clothes, but she could hear him start to tap his foot. "Are you okay?" She asked as she examined different sweaters.

"Yeah? I mean, sure? I don't know." She glanced back at him again, and he gestured his hands in the air, her purse moving with him. She held back her smirk at the sight, watching as more thoughts went through his head. "I'm glad you're safe." He said after a second, their eyes locking as he spoke. "I wouldn't be okay if you weren't."

The look in her hazel eyes went from curious to soft right before him, the corners of her mouth turnt up just enough to show her dimples under the blush creeping up her cheeks. Lydia let their eyes linger on each other for a moment, enjoying the warm feeling she had from his presence. After a moment the butterflies got the best of her and she let her eyes fall back to the sweater she had grabbed. She tossed it next to Stiles before moving to her vanity and going through her drawers. "I need something comfy. This night is so passed a dress and heels." A big smile took over her face as she pulled out a pair of fitting skinny jeans, tossing them where her sweaters was. "I forgot I owned those." She added, a happy glow in her eyes.

He smirked, leaning back on the palm that wasn't holding her designer bag between his legs. "Happens to me all the time."

She smiled as she shook her head at him, grabbing socks and her stuff off the bed. "I'll be quick." She stated, closing the door to her walk-in behind her.

"So what does Allison have to do with a hellhound hunting me?" Lydia asked from the other side of the door.

Stiles eyebrows perked up. "So you know hellhounds hunt banshees?"

He heard her scoff. "Of course. When I say my mom trained me, I mean 3 hours a day for the past 16 years of my life."

He didn't know why these little tidbits of information about her always surprised him, but they did. He briefly wondered how many things she knew that he didn't. "Well, what do you know about hunters?" He asked.

"Not a whole lot. My mom has told me they keep an eye on our family, but it's not in a bad way. They try to keep everyone safe. Supernatural police of some sort."

He nodded even though she couldn't see him. "Allison and her dad are hunters."

"The older man was her dad?" She asked, really just confirming the stuff she was already figuring out in her head.

"Yep."

It was quiet for a moment, and Stiles felt the atmosphere around them change because of it. After a minute a softer voice broke through. "How bad is it?" She asked.

"It's not good," he answered honestly, rolling the the fabric of his dickies between his fingers with his free hand. He heard her door open, and immediately looked up to her, "but we've dealt with worse." Even though that was true too, it didn't seem to comfort her any. He wasn't feeling any better either while we're being honest.

"How many are there?"

"There's only two now. Well, that's what her dad says. If that is true, considering what you just did to ole' boy, it shouldn't be much of an issue." He watched her hesitantly as she moved to sit next to him on the bed, noticing damn well how good she looked in those jeans, and how she let there bodies press against each other when she sat. He was a far cry away from the beginning of the week, that's for sure.

Lydia had a million questions, but she didn't want to pile them all on Stiles. He was so much easier to talk to though. "How did they know hellhounds were hunting me?"

"Well, Chris, Allison's dad, had been keeping tabs as soon as he got word that hellhounds were camped in the mountains, but no one is supposed to know about your family, so he didn't just want to raise hell and assume the worst. So when he found out your dad was letting you get a dorm, he holed you up with Allison to keep an eye on you with the little information she had." Lydia's wide eyes stayed on him the whole time he spoke, taking it all in slowly.

"What information?"

"Their names." He shrugged. "They might know more, but we didn't get that far."

He saw the light bulb go off behind her beautiful eyes. "She knew when I said his name." Stiles nodded.

"So did I. After years of this, I don't believe in coincidences." He answered with a chuckle, finally breaking their eye contact to look at his shoes.

Lydia was smiling, but it fell when his expression changed, his words settling. "You heard me." She whispered, her eyes landing on some poster over Allison's bed. All this time she spent calling him an ass, and here she was in all her glory, so much worse.

He sighed, his walls coming up when he felt her sympathy coming. That was the last thing he wanted. He felt pathetic enough as it is. "Lydia, it really is fine. I don't expect anything from you, it's not like that with us, I promise. I know my friends are overzealous but it's really just to torture me."

Lydia could easily tell from the look on his face that this was something he wasn't gonna talk about. She wasn't complaining. "I know that, but thanks for saying it." She leaned over and gave him a slow kiss on the cheek, lingering for a second. When she pulled away his cheeks were bright red, and she had to hold back a proud smile. "We should head to your apartment before they get worried."

He nodded, because words weren't a thing right now, and stood when she did, following her. "So you guys didn't know who Allison was?"

He shook his head. "We knew her father, but that was it. We have an agreement similar to your family, and he comes to us for help when it's in our jurisdiction. I'm honestly surprised the guy has a family, he's got the characteristics of a Brillo pad."

Lydia laughed for the first time that night. "So Allison is my live in bodyguard, who found out I was being hunted, so she called her dad and then her dad called you guys for help and now we're here?"

He turned up a corner of his mouth in amusement. "That's basically it."

She pursed her red lips together, her eyes a bright green from the breezy weather. "So why does Allison think I'm gonna be mad at her?"

Stiles smiled at Lydia, her understanding of the situation and ability to be so amazing and calm in all of this was making him weak around her. She was pretty skilled in catching him off guard, usually just because she came in the room, but sometimes, like now, it was because of the strong person she was. "Cus she's a good person, I guess." He answered.

She nodded, and silence fell on them as they made there way across the campus. Stiles thought about asking if she wanted him to get them there quicker, but the nerves that had taken over him out of nowhere wouldn't let the words come out. He could tell she was thinking about something, and that's why she was quiet. He was being quiet because he felt like a 9th grade kid who got to walk his school crush to class for the first time and did want to ruin the moment. "Malia's the coyote!" She said in some sort of whisper-shout suddenly. The humor behind her words dissipated his nerves, a loud laugh coming from him as a response. "How in the hell is she a full coyote?! Can you become a full wolf?" She eyed him up and down curiously.

He shook his head, smiling big at her. "No, it's because she was born with it in her blood." She crinkled her eyebrows at him. "I'll go over it all after we get to the apartment and eat." He promised.

Lydia actually made a groan at his words, because the second she heard a thing about food she realized how starving she was. Thank god he was only across the street. "Ooooh what's for dinner? I'm so hungry."

"I'm not sure what Issac made, but I'm sure it's good. I can't believe that asshole didn't even feed you." He shook his head, looking down at her when she linked her arm with his. "Why were you leaving the movie early?" He asked, part of him worried he might not want the answer, but curiosity was one of his biggest problems.

She shrugged, her cheek pressed up against his bicep. "I wanted to leave, he was weird. And his fingernails were dirty."

She rolled her eyes when he openly examined his fingers as they took the steps to his place. "Quit being ridiculous. You think I'd let you touch me if you had nasty hands?" It was actually the complete opposite. They were big and strong, and all over the place when he spoke. Or nervously pulling on his spikey hair as he focused on something in class. Nope, she didn't mind his hands one bit.

"Lydia Martin, you flatter me." His smile met his eyes as he stopped in front of his door. Stiles turned to face her, his long fingers tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "You're still good?"

"I'm safe?" She asked, and he didn't miss a beat when he nodded his head, his eyes concerned with her even questioning it. Her eyes held his and she squinted playfully at him, her smirk showing a dimple on her right cheek. "Then I'm good."

His shoulders relaxed and he nodded, popping the door open. Lydia walked in first, the warmth of the house and the wonderful smell of food invading her and immediately helping her relax. The John Mayer song that was floating through the house paused abruptly, everyone around the house stopping in their tracks to eye the two at the door. Except for Issac who sent her a wink before continuing to stir the pot on the stove. Scott and Allison stood from their bowls at the island, while Kira and Malia opted to just put their spoons down and watch. Even Derek and Jackson stopped their video game to look over there shoulder on the other side of the room. "Hey!" Scott greeted, his voice a much higher pitch than usual. His eyes were full of questions as they slowly moved over to Stiles.

"Hey." Lydia nodded at him with a humorous smile. She looked over the rest of the curious faces in the room, waving in the process. When her eyes met Derek's, she arched an eyebrow at him. "I liked that song." She reprimand. Derek matched her impish smile, lifting the remote in his hand as he kept his eyes on her. She watched him press a button and the slow song filled the room again. "Thank you." She responded. The nod he answered with before he got back to his game showed he knew she wasn't talking about the music.

"Whats for dinner?" She asked, turning back to everyone in the kitchen. Allison eyes were trained on her, obviously scared of what events could unfold. Lydia knew they had to have their own conversation, but she could never be mad at the people around her for trying to protect her. She was thankful, and she would go over that too. After they fed her. She took a seat next to Allison after sending her a wink, and then turned to the bowl Issac placed in front of her. "Yankee pot roast." He answered with an bad American accent and a smile.


End file.
